


The Story of Several Hours

by orphan_account



Category: The Story of an Hour - Kate Chopin
Genre: Gay, M/M, Original Character(s), Period-Typical Homophobia, Romance, School Assignment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:48:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22600477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The Story of an Hour from Brently's point of view, but also gay.
Relationships: Brently Mallard/Original Male Character
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	The Story of Several Hours

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this with my friend as a school assignment, lmao.

A cooling wind swept through the hustling crowd. Bustling busy bodies traveling to and fro minding their own business. Brently, however, was looking about for his companion. He searched for soft brown curls and freckles like stars. Francis was a pretty punctual person, but Brently did not have any doubt in his mind that his responsible friend would arrive soon. He only had to wait a short while before it was time to embark on their train ride. He could hardly wait another minute, as it was almost unbearable only having thoughts of Francis to bide the dragging seconds. Thoughts of a gentle smile, kind demeanor, those gentle hands, a glorious crown of curls, and the soft tap on his shoulder-

Startled out of his train of thought, Brently spun around to come face to face with a slightly winded Francis, face glowing with vitality. With a single gentle smile, Brently’s heart melted. His gentle smile turned into an apologetic frown before he started to speak, “Sorry for running a bit late, Lee.”

“It’s fine,” Brently said, a wave of happiness washing over him. Francis had insisted on giving him a nickname, claiming that the name Brently was ‘much too harsh for such a sweet person.’ But his thoughts turned sour. He wasn’t that sweet. Here he was, about to get on a train for a so-called ‘business trip,’ when really he was leaving his wife behind for a day trip with his real love. Brently sighed, suddenly feeling guilty for deceiving his wife. He loved her, but not in the way he ought to. He loved her completely platonically, which in turn made him feel wretched because he knew how dearly Louise loved him. Determined to not let his thoughts sour the day, he looked back at Francis with resolve and declared, “Alright, let’s go.”

“Yes, let’s!” Francis said, giving another bright smile. They walked up to the man collecting tickets. Brently handed in his ticket and stepped onto the train. Francis went to do the same thing, but seemed to hesitate. He patted his pockets, getting more and more frantic with each second. He cast a guilty glance at both the man collecting tickets and at Brently saying, “I seem to have, well, that is--” he sighed heavily, and shamefully looked down before continuing, “It seems I have misplaced my ticket.” Brently only debated briefly before making his decision. He stepped off the train and discreetly took hold of Francis’ wrist.

“It’s fine, we’ll just go do something else,” he said. Francis looked up in mild surprise, and moments later, he was smiling once again. The two left the train station and just had a pleasant time around town. They went to stores, cafes, and sweet shops. They remained blissfully unaware of the solemn event they had narrowly avoided, unaware that Francis’ unusual bought of clumsiness had quite frankly saved their lives, as the train they had not boarded had crashed and had ended many lives.

At the end of the day, he walked Francis home. He thanked Brently for a wonderful day and apologized once more for his foolishness regarding the train ticket. Brently hushed the curly-haired man and assured him that everything was alright. Their hands shyly linked together, but not more than a moment before breaking apart for fear of being seen. After an awkward ‘Goodnight!’ Francis went into his house, and Brently started to walk back to his own home. 

He contemplated many things over the duration of his walk home. He mostly thought of Francis, and how dearly he wished that he could really, truly be with him instead of Louise. Kind, wonderful Louise who surely never had a cruel thought about him, who loved him with all his heart. Brently sighed and wished, not for the first time in his life, that he could love Louise properly, that he and Francis were best friends and nothing more. He wished he didn’t have to love in secret, he wished he didn’t have to deceive those around him. But his feelings couldn’t be changed. He shook his head, and climbed the stair of his porch. He briefly debated staying outside for a few extra moments, but he knew that his wife would prefer to see him now rather than later, as he had been out all day anyway. So he took a deep breath, adjusted his hat, and opened the door.


End file.
